Maybe you’ve heard some of the tales. We’ve shared many of
them in Part
1 and Part
2 in our blog series about whether Al Capone visited French Lick and West
Baden Springs nearly 100 years ago.
These stories, they’re good. But are they too good to be
true? Those with a firm grasp on history tend to think the legend of Capone is
nothing more than far-flung fiction.
A good authority on the topic is Sandi Woodward, the Program
Manager at Indiana Landmarks, which conducts the historical tours at both West
Baden and French Lick Springs Hotels. With her fervor for history and Capone’s
rumored connection to this area, Sandi has read up on Capone and traced his
footsteps. She’s never seen anything that’s ever led him to French Lick.
No photos. No credible accounts or reports. Sandi has
devoted time of her own to searching for that elusive proof. Until someone
produces that, Sandi’s pretty certain of one thing:
“No. Al Capone was never here,” she says. “I’d love for it
to be true, but it’s never been proven to me.”
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| Capone (second from right) and his Chicago gang |
Sandi equates it to that game of “telephone” we played when
we were younger. The original story gets passed down and passed down, and by
the end of the line, the facts have been distorted and the story is practically
unrecognizable from the original version.
“And I think that’s what’s happened with Al Capone. There is no proof he was ever here; there are no photographs or anything,” Sandi says, comparing this to the legend of the bandstand on the disc at West Baden Springs Hotel — another tale that people swear is true but has never been proven with photo evidence. “It’s kind of like the bandstand. The more it gets told, the more prevalent it becomes. But that doesn’t mean that it’s true.”
“And I think that’s what’s happened with Al Capone. There is no proof he was ever here; there are no photographs or anything,” Sandi says, comparing this to the legend of the bandstand on the disc at West Baden Springs Hotel — another tale that people swear is true but has never been proven with photo evidence. “It’s kind of like the bandstand. The more it gets told, the more prevalent it becomes. But that doesn’t mean that it’s true.”
Colosimo — “Big Jim” or “Diamond Jim” as he was known — isn’t
a household name like Capone. But Big Jim was in power even longer than Capone.
From about 1902 through 1920, Colosimo was the crime boss who was running
Chicago.
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| Al Capone (center) and Johnny Torio (right) |
The twist? Capone is considered to have been involved
directly in Colosimo’s murder, either as the actual gunman or the one who
ordered the hit. And before his death, Colosimo was an associate of Ed Ballard,
the owner of West Baden Springs Hotel at the time. In fact, Colosimo got
married on the front steps of West Baden Springs Hotel in 1920 shortly before
his murder — and that we can
authenticate with a photo and proven accounts. (More on Colosimo’s fascinating
story in a blog coming next week.)
Needless to say, after Colosimo’s murder, Capone probably
would’ve wanted to steer clear of West Baden. The peak of Capone’s crime empire
in Chicago was between 1920 and 1924, and if he wanted to escape the heat in
Chicago during that time, Sandi doubts he would have hid out here.
“Jim Colosimo had over 50 pallbearers at his funeral. Two of
his pallbearers were Ed Ballard and Ed’s cousin Norman. He was in tight with
the Ballards,” Sandi points out. “And hey, if you offed Jim Colosimo, would you
come to the hotel of his honorary pallbearers to stay? Probably not.”
Capone had a few known spots outside Chicago for his “business
travels.” He was known to take retreats to Wisconsin, Michigan or Miami. There
are photographs of him in Hot Springs, Arkansas. But not in French Lick or West
Baden Springs, Indiana.
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| Al Capone in Hot Springs, Arkansas. |
To Sandi’s point about the game of “telephone,” could the
factual occurrence of Jim Colosimo visiting West Baden be what sparked all
these Al Capone rumors?
Even one of Sandi’s good friends has a story about Al Capone
that Sandi has her doubts about.
“She loved to relate the story about how her dad (who was
the groundskeeper for 61 years at West Baden Springs Hotel) would cut fresh
flowers and put them in Al Capone’s room, and that Al Capone always tipped her
dad $8, which he probably gave to her mother so they could save it for a rainy
day,” Sandi says. “I think if you’d say Jim
Colosimo always came to the hotel and my dad always cut fresh flowers for his
room, the general public won’t get too excited about that. But if you say Al Capone came to the hotel and my dad cut
fresh flowers for his room … Really?!
Wow, tell me all about it!”
There’s no certain proof Capone paid us a visit here in
French Lick. But there’s always the chance he could have. Whichever side you
believe, one thing’s for sure: This little history mystery will be discussed
and debated for years to come.